"What happens to the Obama "network" after the election? It's an intriguing question. The capacity that has been built to mobilize people's time and money greatly exceeds that of the parties. Think about it: Obama's campaign has mobilized on the order of two million or more individuals in one fashion or another. It has raised unprecedented amounts of money from unprecedented numbers of people. This is not a typical case of a campaign as an ad hoc organization that goes into mothballs for four years. The lights are not going off on this operation. If Obama loses, the network provides him an instant infrastructure to run again. The more intriguing question to me, as a student of politics, is what happens if, as seems likely right now, he wins."
Complexity and Social Networks Blog: The party after the campaign
Aside from my belief that he is not only the best but the most appropriate candidate for the job, the thing that really excites me about Barack Obama is how many young people I know are seriously interested in politics now--and how active and motivated they have become. Many times before, candidates have tried to mobilize youth, and come up sure. This time, it appears, it's for real--and that's great because there's only one policy that guarantees better results from your government: an interested and active populace. No matter what your persuasion, you have to agree that the second people become detached from and disinterested in the actions of their government, it's over. We, as a people, have lost.
So, every last one of you who went knocking on doors in Ohio or Pennsylvania, or who called their grandparents in Florida--don't let up!
I believe Barack Obama is a great man, but the minute we stop pushing as hard as we are now, he'll fail. We campaign against politics as usual, but if we the people go back to apathy as usual, we wasted a whole lot of effort. The potential for change he represents requires everyone to give not only their verbal support, but their action and interest. The tools are there. The organizational structures are in place. Don't let up.